


Shut Up

by mithrilstarlight



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, mostly giggles, not actually super shippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 05:04:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7744411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mithrilstarlight/pseuds/mithrilstarlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arya and Gendry have a little accident in the bookstore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shut Up

**Author's Note:**

> So this kind of appeared in my brain last night.

“Gendry, shut up and let my buy this stupid present. If we’re going to meet Mum for lunch I need to be in and out quickly,” Arya whispered through gritted teeth as she nudged his face away from where he was attempting to bury it in her hair.

Gendry snickered as she pushed his hands away from her waist. He shoved them into his pockets, following the short brunette into a bookstore that looked nearly a thousand years old. “If you say so,” he whispered after her.

Arya threw him a murderous glare as she released the door to the shop and started her hunt. She had spent days sneaking into Sansa’s room and perusing her book collection for ideas, even taking a few notes. Gendry didn’t have to know that, though. Arya quickly weaved her way through the tall, crooked shelves in search of the perfect present. The entire place smelled of dust and old leather. From the looks of it, many volumes were on the verge of falling apart and she wondered how long they had been here. A glance over her shoulder showed no sign of her not-boyfriend. She grimaced and returned to the shelves.

Silently bemoaning the lack of labels on the shelves. She had to glance around and read several titles before deciphering which genre they were. Even worse, half of these spines were so worn with age that the words were illegible. Scowling, she kept up her search. Eventually she had to find the history section. Sansa loved her history.

Arya rounded a corner and started on a new row of dusty tomes. Crawling title by title along the shelf at eye-level, she hummed quietly. A giant breath of relief escaped her lungs as she realized it was the right genre. She took a step back and scanned the bookcase up and down, waiting for something to pop out at her as a good present. Sansa always went on and on about this book and that book. She was always talking about some rare book. Arya rolled her eyes at the thought of her sister’s babbling. For a place that looked this ancient, there had to be something worthwhile.

Arya caught sight of a sliver of green on the top shelf. The leather spine appeared to be in decent condition compared to its neighbors and the little gold letters were faded, but not worn away. The Almost-Queen: Rhaenyra Targaryen. The title stuck out in her mind. Her breath caught for a second as she wracked her brain on why it seemed familiar. Did she recognize the title because Sansa already had it? Or was it because it was on her list of ideas? Arya scrambled for the scrap of paper she had hastily shoved into her pocket earlier, glad she had the forethought to write the notes. The torn-out leaf of her notebook was a crumpled wreck, but this title was listed on it as a possible gift. She exhaled and nodded to herself.

A grin spread across her face as she looked back up at the top shelf. That little green tome was going to be the best present Sansa got this year. Half of the books she owned were historical non-fiction. Supposedly this was one of a series on various queens and princesses throughout history, two of which she already had sitting at home. In other words, it was right up Sansa's alley. Arya reached up, but found that she was several inches short of the warped wooden ledge, let alone the book resting on top of it. She pushed herself up on to her toes and stretched her arm until her sides hurt. She was still a few inches shy.

Dropping back down, she stuck her hands into her choppy brown hair and scrunched up her face. There had to be a better way of doing this. She looked around and found a few sturdy books. She stacked them right in front of the shelf and lifted her foot. Before her shoe made contact, she froze. Was this really a good idea? She wasn’t too worried about it, but she could hear Sansa’s voice in her head screaming that she was doing a terrible thing by stepping on them. Curse Sansa’s obnoxious voice. Arya felt just enough guilt that she backed down and put the books away.

Her mouth set in a frown, Arya looked up and down the aisle. She might not be able to reach it, but she knew a certain not-boyfriend who was more than a few inches taller than she was. She weaved her way back towards the front of the store, where he was probably waiting awkwardly. She made sure to remember exactly which route she took so she could retrace her steps through this dusty maze. As predicted, Gendry was standing only a few feet from the door, staring blankly at one of the shelves. Arya cleared her throat and waved him over.

“Hey, what’s up?” Gendry asked as he walked over. “You almost done?"

Arya nodded hurriedly and dragged him off into the maze. “Yeah, I just need you to get a book for me,” she said.

“Top shelf, I take it?” Gendry laughed as they rounded the final corner.

Arya turned red and punched him on the arm, trying hard to not also burst out laughing. She pointed upwards as she stopped in front of the book. “It’s the green one. With the gold lettering."

Gendry reached up, heels not leaving the ground, and grabbed the book. “You know, no one else is back here. We could, uh…” A devious smile graced his face.

Arya hit him harder this time. “Stop it. You know I would if we didn’t have to meet Mum for lunch soon."

He shrugged and then looked at the book’s title as he handed it over. “The Almost-Queen: Rhaenyra Targaryen. Seriously? How much of a nerd could your sister possibly be? You’re buying her the biography of someone who’s been dead gods know how long. Are you sure?”

Arya ground her teeth together as she swiped the book from his hand. “Yes I’m sure,” she said and gave him a one-handed shove in the chest.

Gendry tumbled backwards, and Arya realized that either he hadn’t been expecting her to push that hard or he had tripped on something. He crashed loudly into the several large stacks of books behind him, which cushioned his landing. She silently thanked the gods that his back hadn’t been to a shelf, or half the store would’ve come down.

A loud shout echoed down the aisle as the old woman who ran the store came storming around the corner. Arya froze in panic for a few seconds as the ancient lady raced towards them. Gendry scrambled to his feet, looking equally as frightened. Arya flipped the book over to see the little sticker with the price. She then shoved her hand into her other pocket, digging out the cash she had brought for the book.

“How dare you disrespect a place like this! These are priceless-"

“Keep the change!” Arya said hurriedly, throwing the money at the old woman as she grabbed Gendry’s hand and raced through the shelves and towards the door.

“I don’t want to see you in here ever again,” the woman shouted after them.

Outside of the store and two blocks down, Arya and Gendry finally stopped running. She laughed between inhales as she panted from their sprint.

“I vote you don’t tell your sister,” Gendry said with a smile.

Arya rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the shirt. “You don’t know when to shut up, do you?” she said, yanking him down a few inches and echoing his devious smile from earlier. “Come on, we need to meet up with Mum."


End file.
